First up, don’t forget that this evening is the PDX Pop Now! show on the steps at city hall. Starts at 5:30, featuring Old Time Relijun, Watery Graves, and Little Sue. On SW 4th between Jefferson and Madison. Plus, word is that the cool kids at city hall (yeah, in Sam Adams’ office) are planning a similar event in August to coincide with Music Fest NW.

Second, this familiar bumper sticker is now adorning the bike rack directly outside of city hall. Yeeeeouch!

Yes, that’s my pink bike.

On now on to the serious business of city government, kindly put behind the jump for those of you who only have patience for reading Harry Potter.

So, everybody loves biodiesel, right? Council today considered an ordinance to partner with the state's agricultural department to monitor and enforce the city's biodiesel mandate. Since the state legislature managed to pass a biofuels bill this past session, the ag department is already going to be conducting statewide tests of biodiesel facilities, so the city is contracting with them for the additional services.

But how is the city planning on paying for it? Randy Leonard attempted to push through an agreement that would have the $140,000 coming out of the city's general contingency fund--problem is, that fund is dwindling, and council made a pledge to rebuild it before dipping back into the pot. Instead, the mayor and Dan Saltzman pushed to have the funds come out of the city's sustainable development fund, which is set aside for helping foster enviro-friendly business.

After getting a tiny lecture from Saltzman about the funding, and after Potter suggested that whatever enforcement money comes out of the Sustainable Development can be put back in during the fall budget "bump," Leonard relented.

"I had to try though," he said.

The real treat came when city council decided to applaud itself for all of its green practices in city offices. It was a fairly uproarious example of the self-congratulations Portland's city council is known for--but at least the commissioners recognized it and played along.

Each of the electeds' offices were certified as "Blue Works" businesses--meaning they do things like print on both sides of the paper, use reusable coffee mugs and bags, and recycle. It's a certification through the Office of Sustainable Development, but monitored by an independent consultant.

During the presentation, it was announced that Leonard's office uses the least amount of paper, to which Erik Sten asked, "That's not an indicator of the amount of work he does, is it?"

And when the Blue Works' reps cameras came out, Leonard warned, "Never get between Sam and a camera--you'll get trampled." (Later, after thumbing through WW's "best of Portland" issue, I realized that Adams is on nearly every page, which makes it look an awful lot like someone over there has a huge crush on him. Adams appeared to register a fair amount of discomfort over the attention.)

Here's what it looks like when a city council honors itself:

(I'm not saying I'm immune to the same behaviors. If I were mayor, I'd proclaim every day to be the Mayoral Birthday, and force my staff to bring me cake and presents. That would be followed by an awards ceremony, at which I'd always win first, second, and third prize. Eat it, bitches!)

The agenda item that took the longest, though, was an update on Sten's Schools, Family, Housing initiative, which is designed to increase enrollment in under-attended schools by placing affordable family housing near them.

I'll spare you the wonky details but the council discussion did produce this gem from Leonard: "Sometimes we overuse the word 'visionary,' but this is a visionary project."

Think that was directed at Potter and visionPDX?